Cooperating countries: Ethiopia, Austria

Coordinating institution: BOKU University

Project coordinator: Mario Pesendorfer

Partner institution: Mekelle University

Project duration: 1 September 2025 - 31 August 2028

Budget: 39.920,00 €

Ecosystems of the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia, severely degraded by climate change and the 2020-2022 war, are in urgent need of restoration. The region's restoration efforts have global recognition, earning esteemed awards, including the Gold Future Policy Award in 2017. However, COVID-19 and war interrupted ongoing conservation initiatives, including the Tree Diversity Experiment (IDENT Ethiopia) at Mekelle University (MU). In response, the Re-BUILD project aims to advance nature-based restoration by enhancing MU’s research capacity and supporting environmental restoration through staff exchanges, research, publications, and strengthening of the living laboratory. Institutional collaborations between MU in Ethiopia and University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU University) in Austria can strengthen post-war research recovery and ecosystem restoration. This project is strategically designed to integrate and support young researchers and women, recognizing their crucial role in ensuring long-term success and sustainability. Re-BUILD will generate baseline data on the ecological roles of native tree species and promote best practices for long-term restoration. Additionally, the project will strengthen research infrastructure, foster international collaborations, and establish MU as a hub for dryland restoration research. By enhancing climate resilience, the project will contribute to Ethiopia’s commitments under the Bonn Challenge, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as SDG 13, 15, and 17. It will also align with Africa's Agenda 2063 and Ethiopia’s Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy. Re-BUILD is designed to provide a scalable model for promoting SDGs, restoring degraded ecosystem, empowering women researchers, and enhancing the research capacity of MU.